MOLLIE. Oh. (She looks round her wildly.)
TROTTER. (Rising) You’d better not scream, Mrs. Ralston—because if you do I shall fire this revolver . . . I’d like to talk to you a little. (He turns away.) I said I’d like to talk to you a little. Jimmy died. (His manner becomes very simple and childlike.) That nasty cruel woman killed him. They put her in prison. Prison wasn’t bad enough for her. I said I’d kill her one day . . . I did, too. In the fog. It was great fun. I hope Jimmy knows. “I’ll kill them all when I’ve grown up.” That’s what I said to myself. Because grown-ups can do anything they like. (Gaily) I’m going to kill you in a minute.
MOLLIE. You’d better not. (She tries very hard to be persuasive.) You’ll never get safely away, you know.
TROTTER. (Pettishly) Someone’s hidden my skis! I can’t find them. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t really mind if I get away or not. I’m tired. It’s all been such fun. Watching you all. And pretending to be a policeman.
MOLLIE. That revolver will make a lot of noise.
TROTTER. It will rather. Much better to do it the usual way, and take you by the neck. (He slowly approaches her, whistling “Three Blind Mice.”) The last little mouse in the trap. (He drops the revolver on the sofa, and leans over her with his left hand on her mouth and his right hand on her neck.)
(MISS CASEWELL and MAJOR METCALF appear in the arch up Right.)
MISS CASEWELL. Georgie, Georgie, you know me, don’t you? Don’t you remember the farm, Georgie? The animals, that fat old pig, and the day the bull chased us across the field. And the dogs. (She crosses to Left of the sofa table.)
TROTTER. Dogs?
MISS CASEWELL. Yes, Spot and Plain.
TROTTER. Kathy?
MISS CASEWELL. Yes, Kathy—you remember me now, don’t you?
TROTTER. Kathy, it is you. What are you doing here? (He rises and moves to Right of the sofa table.)
MISS CASEWELL. I came to England to find you. I didn’t recognize you until you twirled your hair the way you always used to do.
(TROTTER twirls his hair.)
Yes, you always did it. Georgie, come with me. (Firmly) You’re coming with me.
TROTTER. Where are we going?
MISS CASEWELL. (Gently, as if to a child) It’s all right, Georgie. I’m taking you somewhere where they will look after you, and see that you won’t do any more harm.
(MISS CASEWELL exits up the stairs, leading TROTTER by the hand. MAJOR METCALF switches on the lights, crosses to the stairs, and looks up.)
MAJOR METCALF. (Calling) Ralston! Ralston!
(MAJOR METCALF exits up the stairs. GILES enters from the arch up Right. He rushes over to MOLLIE on the sofa, sits and takes her in his arms, placing the revolver on the sofa table.)
GILES. Mollie, Mollie, are you all right? Darling, darling.
MOLLIE. Oh, Giles.
GILES. Whoever would have dreamt it was Trotter?
MOLLIE. He’s mad, quite mad.
GILES. Yes, but you . . .
MOLLIE. I was mixed up in it all, I taught in the school. It wasn’t my fault—but he thought I could have saved that child.
GILES. You should have told me.
MOLLIE. I wanted to forget.
(MAJOR METCALF enters from the stairs and comes to Centre.)
MAJOR METCALF. Everything’s under control. He will be unconscious soon with a sedative—his sister’s looking after him. Poor fellow’s as mad as a hatter, of course. I’ve had my suspicions of him all along.
MOLLIE. You did? Didn’t you believe he was a policeman?
MAJOR METCALF. I knew he wasn’t a policeman. You see, Mrs. Ralston, I’m a policeman.
MOLLIE. You?
MAJOR METCALF. As soon as we got hold of that notebook with “Monkswell Manor” written in it, we saw it was vital to have someone on the spot. When it was put to him, Major Metcalf agreed to let me take his place. I couldn’t understand it when Trotter turned up. (He sees the revolver on the sofa table and picks it up.)
MOLLIE. And Casewell is his sister?
MAJOR METCALF. Yes, it seems she recognized him just before this last business. Didn’t know what to do, but fortunately came to me about it, just in time. Well, it’s started to thaw, help should be here pretty soon. (Moving up to the arch Right) Oh, by the way, Mrs. Ralston, I’ll remove those skis. I hid them on top of the fourposter.
(MAJOR METCALF exits up Right.)
MOLLIE. And I thought it was Paravicini.
GILES. I gather they’ll examine that car of his rather carefully. I shouldn’t be surprised if they found a thousand or so Swiss watches in the spare wheel. Yes, that’s his line of business, nasty little bit of goods. Mollie, I believe you thought I was . . .
MOLLIE. Giles, what were you doing in London yesterday?
GILES. Darling, I was buying you an anniversary present. We’ve been married just a year today.
MOLLIE. Oh. That’s what I went to London for, and I didn’t want you to know.
GILES. No.
(MOLLIE rises, goes to the desk cupboard, and takes out the parcel. GILES rises and goes to Right of the sofa table.)
MOLLIE. (Handing him the parcel) They’re cigars. I do hope they’re all right.
GILES. (Unwrapping the parcel) Oh, darling, how sweet of you. They’re splendid.
MOLLIE. You will smoke them?
GILES. (Heroically) I’ll smoke them.
MOLLIE. What’s my present?
GILES. Oh yes, I forgot all about your present. (He rushes up to the chest in the entrance hall, takes out the hatbox and returns. Proudly) It’s a hat.
MOLLIE. (Taken aback) A hat? But I practically never wear one.
GILES. Just for best.
MOLLIE. (Lifting out the hat) Oh, how lovely, darling.
GILES. Put it on.
MOLLIE. Later, when my hair’s done properly.
GILES. It is all right, isn’t it? The girl in the shop said it was the last thing in hats.
(MOLLIE puts the hat on. GILES moves below the desk. MAJOR METCALF rushes in up Right.)
MAJOR METCALF. Mrs. Ralston! Mrs. Ralston! There’s a terrible smell of burning coming from the kitchen.
(MOLLIE rushes up Right towards the kitchen.)
MOLLIE. (Wailing) Oh, my pie!
QUICK CURTAIN
Witness for the Prosecution
Produced by Peter Saunders at The Winter Garden Theatre, London, on the 28th October 1953, with the following cast of characters:
(in the order of their appearance)
GRETA, typist to Sir Wilfrid
Rosalie Westwater
CARTER, Sir Wilfrid’s Chief Clerk
MR. MAYHEW, a solicitor
Milton Rosmer
LEONARD VOLE
Derek Blomfield
SIR WILFRID ROBARTS, Q.C.
David Horne
INSPECTOR HEARNE
David Raven
PLAIN-CLOTHES DETECTIVE
Kenn Kennedy
ROMAINE
Patricia Jesel
CLERK OF THE COURT
Philip Holles
MR. JUSTICE WAINWRIGHT
Percy Marmont
ALDERMAN
Walter Horsbrugh
MR. MYERS, Q.C.
D. A. Clarke-Smith
COURT USHER
Nicolas Tannar
COURT STENOGRAPHER
John Bryning
WARDER
Denzil Ellis
THE JUDGE’S CLERK
Muir Little
1ST BARRISTER
George Dudley
2ND BARRISTER
Jack Bulloch
3RD BARRISTER
Lionel Gadsden
4TH BARRISTER
John Farries Moss
5TH BARRISTER
Richard Coke
6TH BARRISTER
Agnes Fraser
1ST MEMBER OF THE JURY
Lauderdale Beckett
2ND MEMBER OF THE JURY
Iris Fraser Foss
3RD MEMBER OF THE JURY
Kenn Kennedy
A POLICEMAN
David Homewood
DR. WYATT, a police surgeon
Graham Stuart
JANET MACKENZIE
Jean Stuart
MR. CLEGG, a laboratory assistant
Peter Franklin
THE OTHER WOMAN
Rosemary Wallace
The play directed by Wallace Douglas
Décor by Michael Weight
Suggestions for reducing the cast to ten men and five women will be found in the Author’s Note
SYNOPSIS OF SCENES
ACT ONE
The Chambers of Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Q.C. Afternoon.
ACT TWO
The Central Criminal Court, London—better known as the Old Bailey. Six weeks later. Morning.
ACT THREE
SCENE I. The chambers of Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Q.C.
The same evening.
SCENE II. The Old Bailey. The next morning.
During Act Three, Scene II, the lights are lowered to denote the passing of one hour.
Copy of program for the first performance of WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION as produced at Henry Miller’s Theatre, New York, December 16, 1954.
Gilbert Miller and Peter Saunders
present
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
A Murder Mystery by
Agatha Christie
Production directed by Robert Lewis with
Francis L. Sullivan Patricia Jessel
Ernest Clark Gene Lyons
Una O’Connor Robin Craven Horace Braham
Production designed by Raymond Sovey
Costumes supervised by Kathryn Miller
CAST
(In order of appearance)
CARTER
Gordon Nelson
GRETA
Mary Barclay
SIR WILFRID ROBARTS, Q.C.
Francis L. Sullivan
MR. MAYHEW
Robin Craven
LEONARD VOLE
Gene Lyons
INSPECTOR HEARNE
Claude Horton
PLAIN-CLOTHES DETECTIVE
Ralph Leonard
ROMAINE
Patricia Jessel
THIRD JUROR
Dolores Rashid
SECOND JUROR
Andrew George
FOREMAN OF THE JURY
Jack Bittner
COURT USHER
Arthur Oshlag
CLERK OF THE COURT
Ronald Dawson
MR. MYERS, Q.C.
Ernest Clark
MR. JUSTICE WAINWRIGHT
Horace Braham
ALDERMAN
R. Cobden-Smith
JUDGE’S CLERK
Harold Webster
COURT STENOGRAPHER
W. H. Thomas
WARDER
Ralph Roberts
BARRISTER
Henry Craig Neslo
BARRISTER
Brace Conning
BARRISTER
Ruth Greene
BARRISTER
Albert Richards
BARRISTER
Franklyn Monroe
BARRISTER
Sam Kramer
POLICEMAN
Bryan Herbert
DR. WYATT
Guy Spaull
JANET MACKENZIE
Una O’Connor
MR. CLEGG
Michael McAloney
THE OTHER WOMAN
Dawn Steinkamp
SYNOPSIS OF SCENES
ACT ONE
The chambers of Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Q.C., in London. Late afternoon.
ACT TWO
The Central Criminal Court (The Old Bailey) in London.
Morning. Six weeks later.
ACT THREE
SCENE I: The chambers of Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Q.C., in London.
The same evening.
SCENE II: The Old Bailey. The next morning.
(The lights will be lowered during this scene to denote the passing of one hour.)
TIME: The present.
Production stage manager, JOHN EFFRAT
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I have great faith in the ingenuity of amateurs and repertory companies to devise means of reducing the very large cast of Witness for the Prosecution in order to make it possible to perform, and my suggested means of reducing the cast is probably only one of many.
As there are a large number of non-speaking parts, it may well be that local amateurs can be used, or members of the audience be invited on to the stage, and I believe that this would be greatly to the benefit of the play rather than lose the spectacle of a lot of people in the court scene.
Although Greta never appears at the same time as “The Other Woman,” i.e. the strawberry blonde in the final scene, this part should not be doubled, as the audience will think it is “plot”—which, of course, it isn’t.
The play has given me enormous enjoyment in writing, and I do hope that the repertory companies who do it will derive the same pleasure from it. Good luck.
AGATHA CHRISTIE
CARTER
Can double the Judge
INSPECTOR HEARNE
Can double Policeman at end of last act
PLAIN-CLOTHES DETECTIVE
Can be doubled by Warder
CLERK OF THE COURT
This part can be combined with Court Usher
ADLERMAN
Can be dispensed with
COURT STENOGRAPHER
Can be dispensed with
JUDGE’S CLERK
Can be dispensed with
SIX BARRISTERS
Four can be dispensed with
THREE MEMBERS OF THE JURY
These can be dispensed with and the “taking of the oath” and “returning the verdict” can be done by a voice “off”
MR. MYERS, Q.C.
Can double plain-clothes Detective
ACT ONE
SCENE: The Chambers of Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Q.C.
The scene is Sir Wilfrid’s private office. It is a narrow room with the door L. and a window R. The window has a deep built-in window seat and overlooks a tall plain brick wall. There is a fireplace C. of the back wall, flanked by bookcases filled with heavy legal volumes. There is a desk R.C. with a swivel chair R. of it and a leather-covered upright chair L. of it. A second upright chair stands against the bookcases L. of the fireplace. In the corner up R. is a tall reading desk, and in the corner up L. are some coat-hooks attached to the wall. At night the room is lit by electric candle-lamp wall-brackets R. and L. of the fireplace and an angle-poise lamp on the desk. The light switch is below the door L. There is a bell push L. of the fireplace. The desk has a telephone on it and is littered with legal documents. There are the usual deed boxes and there is a litter of documents on the window seat.
When the Curtain rises it is afternoon and there is sunshine streaming in through the window R. The office is empty. GRETA, Sir Wilfrid’s typist, enters immediately. She is an adenoidal girl with a good opinion of herself. She crosses to the fireplace, doing a “square dance” step, and takes a paper from a box-file on the mantelpiece. CARTER, the Chief Clerk, enters. He carries some letters. GRETA turns, sees CARTER, crosses and quietly exits. CARTER crosses to the desk and puts the letters on it. The TELEPHONE rings. CARTER lifts the receiver.
CARTER. (Into the telephone.) Sir Wilfrid Robart’s Chambers . . . Oh, it’s you, Charles . . . No, Sir Wilfrid’s in Court . . . Won’t be back just yet . . . Yes, Shuttleworth Case . . . What—with Myers for the prosecution and Banter trying it? . . . He’s been giving judgment for close on two hours already . . . No, not an earthly this evening. We’re full up. Can give you an appointment tomorrow . . . No, couldn’t possibly. I’m expecting Mayhew, of Mayhew and Brinskill you know, any minute now . . . Well, so long. (He replaces the receiver and sorts the documents on the desk.)
GRETA. (Enters. She
is painting her nails.) Shall I make the tea, Mr. Carter?
CARTER. (Looking at his watch) It’s hardly time yet, Greta.
GRETA. It is by my watch.
CARTER. Then your watch is wrong.
GRETA. (Crossing to C.) I put it right by the radio.
CARTER. Then the radio must be wrong.
GRETA. (Shocked.) Oh, not the radio, Mr. Carter. That couldn’t be wrong.
CARTER. This watch was my father’s. It never gains nor loses. They don’t make watches like that nowadays. (He shakes his head, then suddenly changes his manner and picks up one of the typewritten papers.) Really, your typing. Always mistakes. (He crosses to R. of GRETA.) You’ve left out a word.
GRETA. Oh, well—just one word. Anyone might do that.
CARTER. The word you have left out is the word not. The omission of it entirely alters the sense.
GRETA. Oh, does it? That’s rather funny when you come to think of it. (She giggles.)
CARTER. It is not in the least funny. (He tears the letter in half and hands the piece to her.) Do it again. You may remember I told you last week about the celebrated case of Bryant and Horsfall. Case of a will and a trust fund, and entirely owing to a piece of careless copying by a clerk . . .
GRETA. (Interrupting) The wrong wife got the money, I remember.
CARTER. A woman divorced fifteen years previously. Absolutely contrary to the intention of the testrator, as his lordship himself admitted. But the wording had to stand. They couldn’t do anything about it. (He crosses above the desk to R. of it.)